The first thing I noticed was the warmth pressed against me.
Selis.
Her bare body was tangled with mine, one leg thrown over my waist, her breath brushing my chest. In the dim blue glow of early dawn, her skin shimmered with a soft sheen of sweat, the aftermath of a night spent clinging to survival—and something far more primal.
My new body felt… alive in a way I'd never known. Every nerve was on fire, every scent magnified. And her—gods, her—she smelled like heat and skin, wild and soft all at once. Sweet, like crushed berries beneath the sun. Her heartbeat thrummed like a drum against my side.
I could feel myself stirring beneath the furs.
Selis shifted. Her thigh brushed against my length, and she let out a soft, sleepy sound. Her fingers twitched on my abdomen—then slowly trailed lower, testing the lines of new muscle across my stomach. Her touch lingered. Hesitant. Curious.
"You're bigger," she murmured, voice still thick with sleep.
"In more ways than one," I growled, my voice deeper now—rough with hunger. Not just for food.
She looked up, eyes wide and dark. Her pupils dilated as her gaze swept over me. I could see the flicker of something more than curiosity in them. It was need.
"You really changed," she whispered, sliding her palm up my chest. "But… you're still you, Raizel."
Her lips parted. I could see her pulse flutter in her neck.
I pulled her on top of me.
She gasped softly as our hips aligned, her breath hitching as she felt what pressed against her inner thigh—thicker, hotter than before. Her eyes flicked up to mine. I didn't wait. I kissed her—hard, rough, claiming.
She moaned into my mouth, her fingers tangling in my hair. Her body melted against mine, and I rolled her beneath me, pressing her into the fur-covered stone. I took my time tasting her, letting my hands roam over her curves, learning every new reaction.
Her thighs parted on instinct, hips lifting to meet me. I slid a hand between us, dragging my fingers along the slick heat already building between her legs. She was ready—aching for it. For me.
"Raizel…" she whispered, arching.
I teased her entrance, brushing my tip against her folds, rubbing along the heat of her. I didn't enter. Not yet. I wanted to feel her squirm. To hear her beg.
"Say it," I murmured.
"I want you," she breathed. "All of you."
I thrust in slow—deliberate.
Selis cried out, her hands gripping my shoulders, nails raking over the new ridges of muscle. I groaned as I pushed deeper, her body tightening around me. She was wet, impossibly warm, and the way she clenched around me…
I had to fight the instinct to rut like an animal.
But she was already moving—hips rolling, chest arching, gasping every time I withdrew and plunged in again. Her moans filled the cave, each one louder than the last. My thrusts quickened, harder now, deeper, as the tension spiraled between us.
She wrapped her legs around my waist, dragging me deeper.
"Don't stop—gods, don't stop—"
I didn't. I growled her name, biting her shoulder just enough to leave a mark. She cried out and clenched again, her body trembling beneath mine. I felt her walls flutter, her moans breaking into gasps.
She came hard, crying my name—legs trembling, hips jerking.
But I wasn't finished.
I rolled her to her side, still inside her, lifting one leg and driving in again—slower now, but deeper. She whimpered, her body still pulsing, too sensitive—but unable to stop. I kissed her neck, her shoulder, whispered things I didn't know I was capable of saying. Things no monster should feel.
And then I spilled inside her with a growl—deep and low, grinding against her as I emptied everything into her. My vision blurred with the intensity of it. My whole body shook.
We lay there, tangled together, gasping.
The cave was quiet again.
Only our breathing filled the silence.
Selis turned to me, eyes heavy with afterglow, cheeks flushed.
"I never thought I'd… with someone like you," she whispered.
"A monster?" I asked, brushing sweat-damp hair from her face.
"A devourer," she corrected. "But you're mine. Just like I'm yours."
I kissed her again. Slower this time. Deeper.
There would be blood in the days ahead. More monsters to fight. More evolution.
But for now, in the safety of our den, under the early light of a rising sun—
We were just two creatures clinging to warmth. And claiming each other with no hesitation.
The fire in my blood had finally cooled.
Selis lay beside me, her body curled against mine. Her skin still burned where mine touched it, warm and soft, flush with satisfaction. The scent of our joined sweat and sex hung in the air like incense, thick and primal. It clung to the walls of our den, to the mossy stones, to the fur beneath us. A warning. A declaration.
I had taken her. Claimed her.
And she had claimed me just as fiercely.
But the world didn't stop moving. Not even for a moment of peace.
"I think we need to clean up," she said softly, voice husky and worn, like silk frayed at the edges. She stretched, wincing a little, but there was a smile on her lips. "Unless you want the whole forest to smell what we've done."
I chuckled under my breath. "Let them. Maybe they'll think twice before coming close."
Still, she was right.
I sat up and flexed my fingers. My evolved body felt different—powerful, yes, but more. Faster. Sharper. The instincts curling beneath my skin felt ancient, coiled like a serpent waiting to strike.
We stepped out of the den into the cool morning air. Sunlight filtered through the canopy above, dappling the forest floor in shifting gold. A low mist clung to the roots, and the wind carried birdsong on its back.
But beneath all that, I smelled something new.
Blood. Faint. Distant.
I filed it away.
For now, we headed toward the spring we'd found two days prior—just beyond the ridge, where the rocks formed a shallow pool fed by a trickling stream. The water was clear and cold, untouched by corruption.
Selis dipped in first, gasping at the chill. Her hair clung to her back, and her breath came in little bursts as she sank waist-deep. I followed, stepping into the stream, letting the cold water bite against my heat. It was sobering. Calming.
She turned and flicked a handful of water at me.
I caught her by the waist before she could escape and dunked her with a grin.
She came up sputtering, eyes wide, laughing.
"You're such a brute," she accused.
"You're not exactly delicate either," I said, dragging my hand along her thigh beneath the surface. "You practically broke me this morning."
Selis smirked, biting her lower lip. "And you loved it."
We bathed in silence after that, washing away the sweat and scent of the night. But the intimacy didn't fade. It hung between us like a thread, always pulling. Her hand would brush mine, linger. My eyes would wander to the droplets tracing her skin, the way her hair curled when wet.
When we finished, we dressed in furs and scraps, rewrapping what we'd used before. She tied her makeshift top tighter, glancing at me sidelong.
"You've changed, Raizel. Not just your body. Your eyes… they're sharper. More beast than man."
"I feel it," I said simply. "The hunger's louder now. But it's not just for food anymore. It's for power. For territory. For—"
"Control," she finished for me. "I know. I feel it too."
We returned to the den, but something had shifted in the wind.
I crouched at the entrance, scanning the tree line. The scent from before was stronger now. Iron. Decay.
"I smell blood," I muttered.
Selis was already arming herself—a crude dagger carved from a beast's fang. I gripped the bone spear I'd reforged after the last hunt.
Something was watching us.
I could feel it in the silence of the trees. In the stillness of the air. A predator—or worse.
"Stay close," I told her, voice low. "We may not be alone anymore."
And just like that, the peace of our morning faded, swallowed by the promise of another fight.
Because in this world, there is no rest for monsters like us.
Only hunger.